Benjamin Lloyd's Hymn Book: A Primitive Baptist Song Tradition (review)

While Benjamin Lloyd (1804-1860) may not be known to many of us, the nineteenth-century Baptist pastor, merchant, land speculator, church and public official, plantation owner, and father of nineteen children continues to have an effect upon the lives and religious expressions of Primitive Baptist families and congregations. More than forty editions have appeared of the book of hymn texts that he first compiled in 1841. After Lloyd's death, first his widow, then a daughter-in-law, and finally the latter's daughters kept Primitive Hymns in print until the copyright was sold in 1971 to the Primitive Hymns Corporation of Rocky Mount, North Carolina (an association formed specifically to keep the book in print). Clearly the book has filled an important niche for more than a century and a half. That fact alone would make Lloyd's work of interest to folklorists, ethnomusicologists, American studies scholars, and cultural historians.

Bound in a cover that reflects the hymnal described and honored, this collection of essays celebrates Lloyd's legacy by telling the story of the man, of the many editions of Primitive Hymns, and of the singing traditions that have both been reflected in and influenced by Lloyd's compilation. On the accompanying CD, archival and contemporary recordings of the hymn-singing provide the needed aural context for some of the essays. Following an introduction by John Bealle, essays by Joyce Cauthen, Beverly Patterson, and William Dargan analyze the unaccompanied singing practices of congregations that use the Lloyd hymnal. Their studies are followed by Oliver C. Weaver Jr.'s 1968 biography of Lloyd and Joey Brackner's essays regarding Lloyd's many careers and his hymnbook. The last twenty pages are devoted to detailed listening notes for the selections on the enclosed CD.

This reviewer found it helpful to read the second set of essays before the first—that is, to find out about the man, the historical and religious situations, and the theological concerns that caused him to compile a book of texts for congregational singing, and the complex and fascinating publication history of the hymnal. At first glance, the last topic may seem to be important only to catalogers or book collectors, but there is much here of interest to the general reader as well. For example, the reader becomes aware of the impact of something as seemingly mundane as hymn renumbering: in communities where multiple editions of a hymnal are apt to be in use simultaneously, inserting new hymns or moving a hymn to a different location in the book can create confusion. Likewise, the impact of dropping a hymn known to the community ("The Romish Lady" is a striking example here) can be greater than first imagined. The resulting relationship between book compilers/editors and their intended audiences proves over time to be an interplay rather than a one-way transaction.

With this information in mind, the studies by Cauthen and Patterson of historical and contemporary hymn-singing practices in African American and Anglo-American Primitive Baptist congregations (and the church clusters known as associations) fall into place, and the reader understands why certain kinds of hymn texts, and certain varieties of church organization and practice, are unacceptable—or simply irrelevant—to strictly predestinarian Primitive Baptists. Dargan's essay looks at African American Baptist hymn-singing styles in terms, for example, of possible African-derived speech rhythms applied to the English texts of hymnals like Lloyd's. This contribution seems to be part of a discussion that requires more space than is available within the limits of this particular book, so we look forward to fuller explications in additional publications. Patterson's and Dargan's essays are linked to the CD recordings, which provide samples of the unaccompanied singing styles that...